Three hospitalized in Wells Farm fire that killed pigs, chickens

A massive blaze at the historic Wells Farm in Northville on Wednesday, Nov. 12, sent three people to the hospital with smoke inhalation, including two granddaughters of the farm’s owner. The fire also killed several animals.

Two barns caught fire at the farm at 4976 Sound Ave. around 5 p.m., though firefighters were able to save one, according to Riverhead Fire Department Chief Piotr Kurzyna. One of the destroyed barns housed pigs and chickens.

“I literally drove here at 4:35, and by five the building was on fire. 
So, I drove through here. I didn’t see anything, nothing to indicate there was any problems,” Laura Wells, the owner of the farm, told Riverhead News-Review on Thursday, Nov. 13.

“I was talking to my grandson. He’d come over to get a package from our porch. 
I walked outside with him, and then I went back in the house. I got word that there was a fire, came back and the yard was full of smoke. I was literally outside not even two minutes before that, and then all of a sudden, there was smoke everywhere.”

The Wells family has operated the farm since 1661, making it Riverhead’s oldest farming family.

The Riverhead Police Department said they responded to the fire and found a portion of one barn fully engulfed in flames.

With the assistance of the Wells family, uniformed officers entered the barn and helped multiple animals to safety. Firefighters at the farm were reportedly seen chasing pigs out of the barn and into pens to save them.

“It was difficult to get the animals out, especially when they were afraid,” Chief Kurzyna told Riverhead News-Review last Thursday afternoon. Smoke also made it difficult to get the animals out, he added.

All of the chickens in the barn were killed, as well as two of the 20 pigs, Ms. Wells said. None of the lambs on site were in the barn.

A Riverhead police officer and Ms. Wells’ two granddaughters were treated on site for smoke inhalation and transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for further care, according to officials and Ms. Wells.

“My granddaughters ended up in the ER. 
They had smoke inhalation. They were helping get the pigs out. I believe [there was also] a police officer, but they say he’s doing fine,” she said. 


The officer was treated and released from the hospital, Riverhead Police Department Chief Ed Frost said.

The pigs have been secured together in an outdoor pen since last week. Their behavior appears normal, and they are eating and drinking.

“The pigs are doing very well. There’s one that has a small burn on the backside. They will probably bring somebody in to have to look at that. As far I can tell, it’s just the one pig,” Ms. Wells said. “But they’re doing well, surprisingly. Being outside probably helped them, with the fresh air.” 

According to Ms. Wells, more animals are housed in these barns during the summer, but now the season is winding down.

“I would like to thank all the first responders who came to our place to help with the barns that caught fire. Also, I would like to thank those who helped save as many animals as possible and get them out of the building and into an outside pen where they could get fresh air and be tended to by our personnel,” Eric Wells Sr. wrote on Facebook. “I would also like to thank Stan Niegocki of Niegocki Farms for his help in tending to the animals.”

Fire departments from Riverhead, Jamesport, Flanders, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Wading River, Hampton Bays and Eastport responded to the inferno, which closed traffic along Sound Avenue between Church Lane and West Lane for several hours. Chief Kurzyna said that more than 50 firefighters responded to the scene.

It took more than two hours to get the fire under control, according to Chief Kurzyna. Firefighters were there for about nearly four hours, spraying the buildings down to ensure there were no more hot spots.

“Everybody did a phenomenal job at that fire,” Chief Kurzyna said.

The Ridge Fire Department and other ambulance personnel were also on standby.

The Riverhead fire marshal’s office, Riverhead Detective Division and the Suffolk County Police Arson Section are investigating the cause of the fire, which did not appear to be suspicious in nature.

“They’ve ruled out foul play. That’s about all they can do at this point,” Ms. Wells said.  “The fire marshal was saying they’re just leaving it as undetermined.”

Police said due to the significant amount of water used to extinguish the fire, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation representatives were present to monitor water runoff.

John Di Leonardo of Humane Long Island rushed to the scene after smelling smoke from the nearby fire. He got there around 6 p.m. and stayed for about an hour. Mr. Di Leonardo said upon arriving, he immediately noticed how terrified all the pigs and sheep in the corral were. 

“A lot of the pigs were experiencing smoke inhalation, foaming at the mouth,” he said. “They had burns and lacerations on their body.”

Mr. Di Leonardo said he did not perform any veterinary assistance, but offered to bring some doctors in.

“It could have been so much worse. Buildings can be rebuilt, you know. Nobody got hurt, so that’s what’s important at this point. That’s what we need to focus on,” Ms. Wells said.